U-85 Memorial

Annapolis, United States

Wall Art

Home Decor

Bags

Tote Bag

Stationery

Greeting Card

Artist's Description

If you stumbled upon this because you are doing research on a U-85 family member, please read the entire paragraph, and the contact me!

As some of you know, I was born and raised in Germany. Moved to the US in 1984, and have loved living here ever since. A couple of years ago I stumbled upon a story about a German submarine (U-85), that was sunk off of the North Carolina coast by the USS Roper the night of 4/14/1942. The circumstances that caused all Germans to be lost (killed), remain rather questionable, but I guess those are the horros of war. The Roper continued to drop depth charges on the crew that had fled the now sinking submarine. During my research about the U-85, I came across Ann Davis. She has spent years getting the US & German government to replace the headstones (which only had a name and the word “German”), with detailed headstones more fitting for a Veterans Cemetary (located in Phoebus, VA). I am very thankful for her work in this regard. I gave her a framed print of this image as a gift of my gratitude and she literally was moved to tears.

UPDATE: A fellow artist Angel Perry has submitted this image to the prestigious Pay-It-Forward Group citing the following:“He created this image with heartfelt commitment on getting all the names and research accurate. Not only is it a wonderful tribute to all the men who lost their lives; it’s a great Memorial for the families to cherish for a lifetime. His skills as an artist have grown right in front of our eyes and this image speaks volumes.”

Thank you so much Angel, that is very much appreciated.

About this image:The submarine image is that of U-995, taken by me in 2008. The U-995 is a type VII-C submarine, and is an exhibit at the Submariners Museum in Kiel (Laboe), Germany. The U-995 is the only remaining surviving type VII in the world. The U-85 was a type VII-B (both very similar in appearance). The ocean scene was a shot I took in NC, near where the U-85 still remains submerged to this day. The tombstone image was taken during Memorial Day 2008, at the National Veterans Cemetary in Phoebus, VA. It was touching to see that each German grave also had a small German flag right beside the US flag. All images were layered and combined into one. I then added the names of the crew with tombstones on top, the names of the sailors lost forever at sea are below the submarine. If you’d like to read a detailed account of incidents leading to her sinking click here

There is still an issue with one of the sailors that were aboard the U-85, Otto Hahnefeldt. There is a good chance that there are conflicting records whether he was truly part of the U-85 crew.

To view images from the cemetery, including the burial which was conducted at night?, please click here

Many thanks to Ann Davis for her tireless effort in years passed (she actually has written a book called “Time Will Tell” about the German graves), and also to Michael Bermingham (fellow redbubbler) with his assistance on researching discrepancies with several crew members.

Image best viewed in Large, although names still are a bit difficult to read. Full-screen on my laptop this looks awesome!

I am hoping that someday a family member of these sailors will stumble upon this little memorial, if you do, please contact me, and I will send a print free of charge to you, and will discuss their beautiful resting place and provide more pictures.

Yes I didn’t want to show it to you before, only wanted you to see the finished image. I see you like it as well, thank you mate. Great video of the dive, unfortunatley she has been plundered by some divers and technically is still a “gravesite”.

I know what you mean about the War grave. It is a shame, but unfortunately WW2 German Militaria is very highly sought after. And with this being a relatively shallow wreck, it is therefore easily accessible.